


I'm Wide Awake

by everydaytomholland



Category: Glee
Genre: Angst, Brain Damage, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Post-Break Up, Sadie Hawkins Dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 13:50:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15730689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everydaytomholland/pseuds/everydaytomholland
Summary: After Sadie Hawkins, Blaine develops narcolepsy





	I'm Wide Awake

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: BPOTD #828: Blaine has Narcolepsy.
> 
> I know next to nothing about narcolepsy so this should in no way be treated as an accurate depiction of a serious condition. I encourage you to do your own research.
> 
> Originally posted on ffn under a different username, transferring all my fics over.

They said it was a side effect of the brain injury. All things considered, he should be thankful.

Simply falling asleep randomly is a pretty easy rap considering how bad it had been at first.

Blaine Anderson was 15 when he first developed narcolepsy. Except it wasn't a natural occurrence by any means. You see, Blaine had gone to a Sadie Hawkins dance with another boy. His homophobic classmates didn't like this at all, and a bunch of the football players beat the two within an inch of their lives.

Luke got of lucky. A broken wrist, fractured nose and a heap of bruising is what he managed to leave Westerville, Ohio with. Blaine wasn't so fortunate.

Blaine had broken several ribs, one of which punctured his left lung. He had a broken leg and several fractures in his left arm. But none of this compared to the brain injury. When EMTs first arrived on scene, Blaine wasn't breathing. He looked as though someone had hit a hammer against his head. The swelling in his brain was so severe that doctors didn't expect him to survive the first 24 hours. But miraculously he did.

Blaine was in a coma for three and a half weeks. He awoke in hospital with no memory of anything a month prior to the dance. The doctors said this was normal. The issue arrived when Blaine tried to start physiotherapy for his injuries. It turned out that Blaine had sustained a significant amount of damage to his primary motor cortex, that is, he didn't just have to recover, and he had to physically teach his body how to work again.

The process was not without pain and tears, but Blaine was making good progress. He could now write almost as well as he could before the dance and had started to walk with a walker, rather than two metal beams and a person in front of and behind him in case he fell.

The first time it happened, everyone was terrified. One moment Blaine was walking slowly with his walker, making conversation with his mom and a nurse, and the next he was unconscious on the ground. In the minutes that passed, Blaine was stretchered back to his room and examined by a number of doctors when he came to. "Wha' h'ppened?"  
"We don't know Blaine, we're trying to figure that out. Just try and relax, we'll take care of you." Reassured, the boy drifted back to sleep.

Tests came back and that's when Blaine and his family first learned about narcolepsy. It was just another thing for him to get used to.

Within months, a treatment regimen had been developed and Blaine was back home. Life started going back to normal and Blaine's narcolepsy was hardly ever an issue.

Until November 2012.

Blaine's breakup with Kurt had really taken its toll on him. He was barely functioning on a day to day basis. He got up, had coffee, went to school, went to glee club if it was on, went home and went to bed. It was his new routine, his parents were out of the country so even they couldn't say anything.

Blaine was a mess of emotions inside a cold, emotionless shell. He couldn't look anywhere without being reminded of Kurt. School, the choir room, the Lima Bean, his bedroom. Kurt was everywhere. Except where Blaine wanted him, he still hadn't spoken to him since Grease.

He barely slept anymore, insomnia he supposed. He was just tired all the time.

This day was no exception. He'd gotten back a physics test that he should've passed easily. He got a C-. He didn't even have the energy to care. He didn't talk to anyone except Sam, he kept to himself, counting down the hours until he could be back in bed wallowing in his emotions.

Today they were having an extra-long glee rehearsal after school, finally starting preparations for Sectionals. Blaine had been feeling off all day, more off than usual that is, he just couldn't put his finger on why.

They were putting the final touches on a set of dance moves when Blaine started feeling particularly sluggish. The sensation was vaguely familiar, something he hadn't experienced in over a year. "F'nn?" Great, his speech was slurred too, "I think I need to…"

When Blaine came to he could feel himself lying on the hard ground in the auditorium, someone's bag was under his head and he could hear concerned murmurs coming from around him. He forced his eyes open and saw a number of people in his line of sight, one of which was Finn. He looked worried.

"Blaine?" The teen said, "Can you hear me? Do I need to call an ambulance?"  
"Nah, 'm fine."  
"Are you sure? You kind of nosedived there."  
"Finn. I'm fine. I have narcolepsy, I just forgot to take my meds." That was why he felt off.  
"Lord Tubbington sells narcolepsy to the other cats. He thinks I don't know about it, but I found his stash." The club burst into laughter. Brittany, of course. Blaine could always count on her to lighten the mood.  
"If you don't mind, I'm going to go home and go to bed."

When Blaine got home he went straight to bed. For the first time in weeks he felt himself drifting off to sleep easily. He was barely hanging onto the last grips of consciousness when he heard his phone ring, he answered without checking who was calling, "h'llo?"  
"So Finn called me."  
"Kurt?"  
"Yeah. What are you doing Blaine? You can't forget your meds. What if this had happened while you were driving or in the bath? I could have- you could have died Blaine. You're lucky you were just in glee club."  
"I'm sorry Kurt, I've just been so upset with everything that's gone on that I guess I forgot."  
"I know. I understand it's just, it's so dangerous Blaine. And I feel terrible."  
"Kurt? Why?"  
"Because you needed help with something important and I couldn't help you."  
"Yeah but that's my fault."  
"Yeah. Listen just next time call me or call my dad. Hell, even call Finn. This is too important."  
"Okay."  
"Good. Because I don't want you to get hurt. I'm angry, and I'm hurt by what you did but I can't hate you, no matter how hard I try. I love you Blaine." He was crying.  
"I love you too Kurt. I'm so sorry." Now they were both crying.  
"I know. Just go to sleep. You sound like you need it. We can talk later."  
"'Kay. 'Til next time?" Blaine said, drifting off to sleep again.  
"Until next time. Good night Blaine."

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on instagram under the same username.


End file.
